photo-lithographer



N.PE.TER8, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

'UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

GEO. CR-OMPTON, OF VORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOOM.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,044, dated April 27, 1858.

" To all whom it may concern:

Be it known tha-t I, GEORGE CRoMr'roN, of lVorcester, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Looms for Weaving Twilled and Figured Fabrics; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, :and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the figuring apparatus of a loom without the weaving parts, which are to be of the usual construction; Fig. 2 a vertical section taken at the line A., a, of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 another vertical section taken at the line B, )of Fig. 1.

The saine letters indicate like part-s in all the figures. y

In what is known as the Crompton loom patented to `William Crompton on the 25th day of November, 1837, the horizontal levers at top which operate the series of leaves of heddles are provided with what are termed jacks suspended to their outer ends, and these jacks are thrown into position by the pattern chain or cylinder so as to be operated by a lifter and a depressor, at each operation a portion of them being lifted, and all the others depressed to open the shed in accordance with the desired figure to be produced as determined by the pattern chain or cylinder. The selection of the jacks which are to be lifted from those which are to be depressed in forming the next shed, is effected wliile the shed is closed, and hence at each operation all the jacks, levers, and heddles are operated. Now in most, if not vin all designs or patterns, many of the warp threads are required to be in the upper and others in the lower shed during two or more throws of the shuttle, and hence it follows that the lifting and depressing of the hed dles which control these warps at the forming of each shed when the pattern does not require it, is a wasteful expenditure of power and an injury to the warp threads, and to the machinery, which waste, and wear and tear I avoid by my said invention which consists in combining with the series of jacks suspended to the heddlelevers, and operated by a lifter and a depressor when placed in. position by a pattern chain or cylinder, two vibrating bars acting on hooks or projections on the said jacks, after the pattern chain or cylinder has effected the selection' for the succeeding shed to hold in place before the closing of the shed such of them as i are required to be in the same position for the neXt succeeding shed. And my said invention also consists incombining with the said vibrating bars operating on thejacks as before stated, a vibrating holding bar which acts on the heddle levers to hold them in their elevated and depressed positions while the vibrating bars for holding the jacks liberate the jacks that they may be acted upon by the pattern chain or cylinder to place them in position for the next shed. p

In the accompanying drawings (a) represents the frame of a loom which may be of Y any suitable construction, and which is to be provided with the mechanism usually required in a power loom. The usual leaves of heddles required in a loom for weaving twills or fancy fabrics are not represented as they are well known to weavers, but instead I have represented heddles (Z2) with warp threads (c) passing through the mails as sufficient to indicate the action. The heddles are suspended between the inner ends of two Sets of heddle levers (d) and et' one set at top and the other at bottom, and each set vibrating on a fulcrum rod (f). The upper set of levers are wedge Fig. 2) for a purpose to be presently described.

The series of jacks (71.) are suspended by a hinge pin, one to each of the series of heddle levers (d), and their lower ends are connected by wire links with the outer ends of the lower set of4 levers (c) to keep the heddles under tension between the inner ends of the two sets of levers; and the wire links from the lower ends of the jacks to the lower levers'incline outward to draw the jacks against the pattern cylinder (j) or chain, as in the well known Crompton loom.

The pattern cylinder is rotated with an intermittent motion by a ratchet wheel deriving motion by a connecting rod (Z) from a crank on the main shaftv (n) of the loom. When the pattern cylinder or chain is turned the projections on ,formed at their outer ends as at (g) (see that section of its periphery act on soine of4 1 the jacks and force them inward, as at (L),

in a condition to be depressed by a depressor (p) the said lifter and depressor acting on projecting shoulders (g, g) on each of the jacks. The lifter and depressor are simply two bars as represented sliding up and down in parallel ways and in the frame work (see Fig. t) and the lifter` is attached to a sliding vertical bar (t) (see Fig. 3) and the depressor to a like bar connected together by a rocking lever (c), and connecting links (w, so that when one moves up the other moves down, and vice versa, the lower -end of the bar (u) being connected by a joint link with a crank (y) on the main shaft of the loom, so that at each rotation of the shaft the lifter and the depressor are operated to the required extent to act on the jacks with the view to close one shed and open another.

So far I have described what is known as the Crompton loom patented as before stated.

The jacks and heddles should about balance each other and the nearer the better. Each jack is provided with a holding down shoulder or hook (e), below the depressing shoulder or hook (g), and on the opposite side with a corresponding holding up shoulder or hook (a'), above the lifting shoulder or hook (g), and there are two holding bars (b') and (b2) connected into a frame by two levers (0', 0') which vibrate together on an axis about the middle of their length, the fulcrum of one of the said levers being a rocking arbor (6') provided with an arm which is connected by a jointed rod (g') with one end of a lever which is acted upon at the other end by a cam on the main shaft of the loom, so that at every revolution of the shaft the projection of the cam acts on the lever and by the connections moves the two bars (b') and (b2) into such position relatively to the holding down and holding up shoulders (c) and (a') as to prevent the jacks from moving up or down during the passage of the cam; but so soon as the cam has passed the weight of the parts is sufficient to vibrate the levers (0', 0') to the extent required to clear the bars from the shoulders and thereby liberate the jacks. It has been already stated that the outer ends of the upper heddle levers are wedge shaped. They are so formed to be acted upon by a holding bar on the upper end of two arms (Z', Z') of a rock shaft (m') which has another arm (n') connected by a jointed rod (0') with a lever (29') which is drawn up by the tension of a spring (g') and forced down by a cam (r') on the main shaft of the loom. When the outer wedge shaped ends of the upper levers are some u and some down, as

when a shed has been ormed the cam (r') acts on the lever (29') the effect of which is to force the holding bar (k') into the open wedge form space between the ends of the levers, and there to hold it until the cam has passed when the tension of the spring is permitted to draw up the lever which throws out the holding bar to liberate the heddle levers.

`While the holding down and holding up bars are in action the jacks cannot be set by the pattern cylinder or chain to make the selection for the next shed. Hence it is necessary that these two bars should be moved away While the movement of the pattern cylinder or chain takes place; but it is equally necessary that the jacks should be held in position either up or down while the pattern cylinder or chain acts upon them. This is all accomplished by the above described mechanism operating in the following order viz: So soon as a shed has been opened the holding bar is forced in between the wedge shaped ends of the heddle levers and there remains while the lifter goes down, and the depressor goes up each to its place of starting, and also while the holding up and holding down bars leave the jacks, and they are acted upon by the pattern cylinder or chain to make the required selection for the next shed; but so soon as this new selection has been made for the next shed the holding up and holding down bars are brought into action by the cam so that the holder may liberate the wedge formed end of the heddle levers to permit the lifter and depressor to lift and depress the jacks to open the new shed according to the selection which has been made. By these means none of the jacks, levers, and heddles are operated for the opening of each succeeding shed, except such as require to be shifted from the upper to the lower or from the lower to the upper portion of the shed.

I am aware that it has been proposed to hold the heddles in their lifted and depressed positions until the Warps which they control are required to be shifted from the upper to the lower, or from the lower to the upper surface of the fabric as the design or pattern of the fabric progresses, by holding the jacks either in the elevated or depressed position until the warps require to be shifted; but in such case this has been done by a separate mechanism operating on each jack, and the mechanism was in consequence too complicated.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting my claim of invention to the special construction herein specified as the same end may be obtained by equivalent means.

That 1 claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isd l. The employment of the two bars for holding up and holding down such of the series of jacks as are not required to be elevated or depressed at the forming of any shed, substantially as described, in combination with the jacks, the pattern cylinder or up and holding down such of the jacks as 10 chain, andthe lifter and depressor, substanare not required to be shifted during the.

tially as and for the purpose specified. operation of opening a new shed, substan- 2. And I also claim the holder bar which tially as and for the purpose specified. f 5 acts on the ends of the heddle levers to hold them in their elevated or depressed position GEORGE CROMPTON until the beginning of the operation of open- Vitnesses: ing a shed, substantially as described, in WM. H. BISHOP, combination With the two bars for holding WV. C. BROWN. 

